


An Unexpected Reunion

by lapinprince



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, It's not super serious anyway, It's not super shippy but it's a little fluffy, Other, Post-Canon, Self-Indulgent, Years Later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 04:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13426791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapinprince/pseuds/lapinprince
Summary: Ryuji has an interview for an on campus job, and he is very excited. As it turns out, Akechi Goro is the one interviewing him, and he quickly becomes terrified.Somehow, based on a true story.





	An Unexpected Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> a funny thing happened to me recently so that inspired this.
> 
> find me on twitter, @[laprincenico](https://twitter.com/laprincenico)! hope you enjoy.
> 
> -♔

Ryuji woke up with a start to his phone alarm blaring. He scrambled to grab his phone and shut it off, and huffed a sigh with relief as he tried to slow his heartbeat. He slid out of bed, opting not to lay there for potentially way too long and missing his train, hopping into the shower instead. Today was a fairly big day; he had been looking for another part time job to go alongside his full time studies, one that would pay a bit more than his current one at a local grocery store and would also ideally be on campus. After dozens of applications, he had received a few calls back for interviews which he went through without trouble. Though, he had been anticipating the interview for this job the whole time, as it was basically perfect for what he was looking for. It was a job as a worker for a library on campus, and due to the student employment program the pay was much more than he earned now, and was money that he didn’t need from his mother for his education.

Even better, a job on campus meant more time studying instead of commuting. Ryuji wasn’t always used to being studious, but a few years of an athletics scholarship that relied on at least a certain average was more than enough to whip him into shape. Everything was going very well if you asked him, and getting this job would just be the cherry on top! 

Stepping out of the shower, he crossed into the bedroom of his small apartment to get dressed. He slipped into a cleanly pressed grey dress shirt, black dress pants and a nice tie, posing in front of his full length mirror once he was fully dressed. He pushed his glasses onto his face as well- he didn’t need them to see all the time, but anything that could help him suit the position would work. 

“Hell yeah! You can do it, buddy!” he said to himself, giving fingerguns to his reflection. He grinned, feeling the surge of confidence as he quickly packed his bag and left the house. It was a wonderfully sunny day, too- Ryuji habitually dashed down the street, feeling too excited and nervous to just walk.

* * *

Goro ran a tired hand through his bangs, eyes scanning the stacks of paper, trying to take in as much information as possible in what little time he had. He had been working for far too long, talked to far too many people, and he was looking forward to just being done with the day and unwinding with a cup of coffee. He wasn’t even quite sure why his boss had him conduct the interviews for the new hiring- sure, he technically had his own set of responsibilities that involved a hand in the hiring and training process, but doing the interviews was unexpected.

“Check the time, Akechi-kun. The next one should be here soon,” his supervisor said, adjusting her glasses and returning to their computer. He gave a small sigh and grabbed a sheet of paper from the bottom of the pile, not bothering to look at it as he got up. He strode through the hallway, pushing his glasses up his nose. A young man sat in a chair in the waiting area, a magazine covering his face as he read. Goro looked at the resume in his hand for the first time.

“Sakamoto…” Goro squinted at the name, and paled. “...Ryuji?”

Ryuji took that moment to lower the magazine, his entire body freezing at the sight of the man in front of him. 

“A-Akechi!” he squawked, putting the magazine down hastily and adjusting himself to look more presentable. “I-I didn’t know you worked here! Or wore glasses-” Goro flushed. 

“Y-yes, I do- didn’t know you were applying, evidently-”

“Long time no see, then-!” Ryuji chirped, half an attempt to brush off that moment of embarrassment, half an attempt to come off as more confident as he actually was. Goro gave him a look that made him immediately regret saying so. Instead, Ryuji stood up, picking up his bag.

“I’m, um. Nice to meet you,” Ryuji said stiffly, giving a robotic bow. “My name is Sakamoto Ryuji. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” The front desk librarian gave Goro a look.

“Akechi Goro. I’m one of the assistant librarians. I’ll be doing your interview today,” Goro recited. If Ryuji was going to drop the familiarity, he would too- no, it was his job to, he didn’t really have a choice. He turned and started to walk through a door and down the hallway. “Follow me, Sakamoto-san.” Ryuji obliged, giving a curious look about the back end of the library, something that obviously only staff would have access to and thus not something he’d ever see himself. Goro paused to peek into a room, brow furrowing at what he saw and he kept walking. He led Ryuji into a room, gesturing towards a chair and sitting down himself across the table. A few papers were strewn on Goro’s half of the desk, and Ryuji’s resume was set down to his right. 

“...So, Sakamoto-san. I am sure you are aware of what this job entails, but I will review it for you regardless.” Goro began his usual spiel about basic expectations, almost forgetting that the person in front of him was Ryuji and not another generic humanities student. 

“...Any questions?” Goro glanced up and, for the first time, looked at Ryuji. The poor boy was shaking very slightly with a nervous smile on his face. 

“...Well, if you have any questions later on, feel free to ask, Sakamoto-san.” Goro cleared his throat and opened some papers, picking up a pen. “So, let me ask a few questions about yourself. You’re a 3rd year student in Physical Therapy?” 

“Yeah. Focusing on sports medicine,” Ryuji replied. Goro felt that was oddly fitting, as fitting as his own degree in Criminology.

“That sounds like you. Alright, now how did you find this position…?” Goro asked. The entire interview process was exactly what Ryuji had been going through multiple times before, and once he got over his initial nerves of being interviewed by someone he _knew_ , he gave well worded answer with more confidence than earlier. He frowned, as he could still barely read Goro’s expression, and couldn’t tell if he was doing well or not. Goro was scanning over his resume with a critical eye, a gravely unreadable expression on his face.

“Now, I do have to ask, Sakamoto-san-” Goro began, sliding his resume on the table towards Ryuji. He pointed to a specific part.

“Yes…?” Ryuji leaned towards the paper as well, squinting at what Goro was talking about.

“You list one of your skills as “experience in volunteer community services regarding youth empowerment and social justice engagement”. Is that just a flowery description of your work with the Phantom Thieves?” Goro raised an eyebrow and Ryuji flushed. He nearly shushed him, too- ironic that the boy who would proudly yell about being part of the Thieves would now be embarrassed at its mention. He hardly knew that someone who could decipher what that meant would be the one interviewing him!

“Haha, yeah- figured it was the best way to show my morals and what I believed in!” he lied, a very fake and nervous grin spreading on his face. Goro wrote a lengthy sentence down in his notes, making Ryuji shake even further.

“I suppose that “rebuilt team from scratch” under your involvement with the Shujin Track and Field Team is a direct result from the incident with Kamoshida-san,” Goro observed. Ryuji just flushed further, though he couldn’t help but be proud of himself for working so hard- it got him scouted to this university, after all.

“I-I mean, it’s an important fact-!” Ryuji began defensively, but Goro held up his pen to stop him.

“It’s admirable,” he said simply. Ryuji gaped, but quickly shut his mouth and fixed his posture.

“Really-?” he asked, in awe. Goro nodded and shuffled a small stack of papers together.

“Yes. Anyway, one last question- why are you the best candidate for this position?” Goro asked, his pen poised to take notes. Ryuji thought for a few moments, and took a deep breath.

“I’m very hardworking, and adaptable! Whenever anything happens, I start trying to fix it. Even if it’s not a permanent solution, at least it would be something.” Ryuji watched the top of Goro’s head as he scribbled away, waiting until he looked up to keep talking. “Plus, it’d probably be nice to work with someone you know- right? I think.” Ryuji was certain that last quip was not something to say in an interview with somebody you know, but he felt somewhat reassured when he heard a soft laugh from Goro. 

“Alright. That’s all from me, do you have any last questions?” Goro asked, setting his pen down. Ryuji generally had some questions reserved in the back of his mind, but the shock of being interviewed by the former Detective Prince himself had made this whole process quite different than what he was used to. Needing to ask at least something, he blurted the first thing on his mind.

“Is there much opportunity to work with others?” he asked. Goro looked up, his maroon eyes meeting Ryuji’s hazel ones. 

“Well… yes. You would most likely be working between others in your position, as well as the assistant librarian delegating your tasks,” he explained. Ryuji grinned. That would mean if he got the position, he’d be able to work with someone he knew- a friend. 

“Awesome. Nothing else from me,” Ryuji said. Goro chuckled lightly, his own doubts on his mind. Did he really want to work with Goro that badly? After everything that happened? Goro could use some friends for sure, but… 

“Thank you for coming, Sakamoto-san. We will be in contact within a week or so regarding your application.” Goro stood up, offering a hand to Ryuji to shake- Ryuji stared at Goro’s ungloved hand and took it in his, shaking firmly before letting go. 

“Thank you for your time, Akechi-san!” he said cheerfully. After a few moments of gathering his things, he left the room, but not without a glance back to Ryuji before he disappeared. Goro sighed into his notes and scribbled a few more sentences down, taking the stack of resumes and papers to report back to his own supervisor. 

“Finished? Oh good, how did the last one do? We have no more interviews to do, right?” they asked, looking up from their computer. 

“Sakamoto? I think we should hire him. He’d be a good fit compared to the others,” Goro replied, passing them the resume and his notes. They looked through both and smiled, stapling the documents together and placing them aside.

“I’ll take another look, but I trust your judgment. Thank you for your work today, Akechi-kun.” Goro bowed his head and grabbed his things, leaving the library. He spent his walk home entertaining thoughts of his days at work with a rambunctious blonde from that day on, and they weren’t as terrible as he thought they would be.

**Author's Note:**

> so heres what happened:
> 
> i was in a p5 cosplay group as goro in november and there were a few people i had never met before and we all went to ihop after and became friends and it was very fun 
> 
> this past week i was conducting interviews for my job as we are hiring, and i had one last interview of the day so i went out to grab the person and when i do i lock eyes with the ryuji from that cosplay group
> 
> and the ryuji ended up being super nervous because i get really scary when im in interviewing mode, plus they kept having intrusive thoughts of us being at ihop and it was just super funny
> 
> we ended up hiring them in the end, it was a happy ending but i kept imagining the scenario with ryuji and goro so i decided to write it. super self indulgent, but i hope you enjoyed reading it hehe


End file.
